Artslim
 
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Eating nuts as part of a healthy and portion controlled eating plan is a natural way for humans to eat, so it makes a lot of sense that this readily available food should be good for us and the only secret to weight management, is to eat a healthy variety of all food groups, to suit our energy needs, and to move our bodies in a healthy way. 

One food item that continually presents itself as a great food for people if eaten in moderation is nuts and seeds. While they are not a fat burner supplement, it has been proven in research that people who regularly eat small quantities of nuts and seeds every day, tend to be slimmer than non-nut eaters.  

Nuts help to satiate "true hunger" much better than any oil, due to high fibre and nutrient levels. Eating the same calorie value as refined carbohydrates and you find yourself with food cravings and low blood sugar causing false hunger signals as your body tells you it is hungry when in fact it is starved of nutrition.

 Nuts and seeds also contain about 1/4 the calories of oil. This is important because most of us think of nuts as a high-calorie, high fat food. Remember that the objective of optimal nutrition is nutrient density, it is wrong to think that all oils and all carbohydrates are unhealthy. There are healthy oils and healthy carbohydrate s and we need the good oil and carbohydrates in our diet in order to maintain optimum health. When you consider the fat-soluble vitamins play a large part in maintaining the health of the respiratory and reproductive tract, you can see how unhealthy a very low fat diet is and it is the natural fats in plants rather than the solid animal based fats that are our healthy option.

Consumption of raw nuts daily reduces cholesterol and  the risk of heart disease, there is also a decrease in diabetes.

Nuts are a valuable source of protein, and because they grow, encased in hard shells, they are less likely to be, contaminated, with environmental poisons. 

My tip if you initially cannot resist overeating in quantity, when you purchase a large bag of fresh nuts, is to place these in mini, press seal bags in quantities of 8 to 20 nuts.  I find 8-10 nuts os a great snack with a piece of fruit or added to my rolled oats breakfast and 20 nuts with some vegetables makes a fast food lunch.  20 nuts, on hand, in your bag or in the car is a healthy meal, stand by, if you  are caught out when hunger hits and there is no healthy choice to buy or make, where you happen to be. It will satisfy until you can get home and add some vegetables to balance the meal, nutritionally. 

If the idea of vegetables does not appeal to you, have you tried a large grilled mushroom or Mixed vegetable salad or Microwave for 3 minutes bunch of asparagus, all served with sesame and sunflower seed sprinkle? Stir-fry in 1 teaspoon of olive oil, or steamed vegetables with nuts?

I am nuts about fresh raw, unsalted, wholesome nuts J

Research fererence:- Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health found three times as many people trying to lose weight were able to stick to a Mediterranean-style moderate-fat weight loss diet that included nuts, peanuts and peanut butter versus the traditionally recommended low-fat diet. (International Journal of Obesity, Oct. 5, 2001).